Not Christmas...Not Just Yet

Well, we are under a week before Christmas is here...and I get more sad as each second passes. I wish it could be the week before Christmas all the time. I get sad that it will all be over very shortly. We will have to take down our lights outside and our decorations inside; our walls will appear empty and bare after the bustle from Christmas. Our first real Christmas tree is starting to dry out and it will soon be time to bag it up and take it to the curb. Deo surprised me today after he got home from work by taking me to Winterhaven to see the lights. It's one of my favorite things to do in Tucson as it's one of the only Christmas traditions we have here (or that I am familiar with). I'm trying to get all my Christmas music in before Deo won't let me listen to it anymore, and I'm trying to watch all my Christmas movies before it seems tacky to watch them outside of the season. I'm plugging my Christmas tree and my little gingerbread village in, even when I'm home alone to soak up all the Christmas spirit before it's too late.

During our walk in Winterhaven, I started thinking about some New Years resolution that Deo and I could do; something really good, instead of my typical "lose weight and work out more" resolution. We thought of the idea that we research a non-profit that we both really take an interest in and dedicate time once a month to volunteer with them. I know to most people, once a month doesn't seem like a big deal. But for us it is, and seems very realistic. So our next step is to start some research on different organizations that we feel passionate about before the first of the year. Also, I've been thinking about starting to go to Church again. I've had my struggles with organized religion lately, but have recently been thinking about my Catholic upbringing a lot and feel like I should start attending again on a regular basis.

A lot to think about in the next few weeks, but it will be a good start to a new year.

Bad Pet Parent

I just got back from taking our two kids for a walk. I met a co-worker at a nearby park. She decided to bring her puppy as well. Of course her puppy is so well behaved, walked right beside her on the leash, and even stopped and sat down while people would walk by. My dogs, however, ran all over the place, pulled me every which way, and barked at every moving shadow we walked by. Hannah even got so crazy that I fell down and scraped my knee at some point. Now I know that this is our fault. We haven't had them trained and don't spend a lot of time working with them on their leashes (Toby's actually gotten pretty good since we used to walk and run him everyday while I was in college). But Hannah is just out of control. She's not used to being around other people or dogs, so I know that it helps getting her out of the house and mingling. But every time I think about our dogs are so out of control, I think about how bad our human kids are going to be. We already get disapproving looks when we take our dogs to PetSmart, I can just imagine the looks we will get from disapproving parents when we go out to eat. Or how I'm so nervous getting our Report Card from the PetsHotel wondering how they did, I think about how nervous I am going to be going to a parent-teacher conference.

But then, I look over at my crazy, out-of-control brats and see how sweet they are, all tuckered out from their long trip. I realize that they were just so excited to finally get out of the house and they absolutely love walks. So here are my sweet puppies, all tuckered out. And I realize how much I love my pups and how much I will love my kids, even if I do get disapproving looks.

Bad Circulation

I walked into my office this morning and it was (no joke) 60 degrees. For some reason McClelland Hall, specifically the Undergraduate Programs Office, bears the brunt of the winter chill. In addition to being extremely cold, I have determined that I have extremely poor circulation in my extremities. I have turned to warm socks and closed-toed shoes, but always have difficulties with my hands. Typing turns my fingers into little finger popsicles. Sometimes it is all of them, sometimes just my pinkies, sometimes only my right (mouse navigator) hand. It's weird. Doing some research I found these cool gloves. They seem pretty cool. They actually hook up to your computer's USB drive and keep your digits toasty warm while you type. The mittens open up so you have full finger function, and it looks like it also has an adjustable heat setting. For roughly 30 bucks, I think it might be a good investment for me...and any other bloggers out there!

A New Tradition

So I picked up this gingerbread house kit from Michael's during my Black Friday excursion. We started it this weekend and then after "gluing" together the walls and roof, read in the directions that told us to "wait an hour to dry completely." This part of crafting always irritates me because when I start a craft, I want to finish it right away. But alas, we waited...until last night to actually getting around to decorating it. It was a cute and easy-to-do kit, under $10, and actually quite yummy (we snacked on some broken gingerbread and icing while crafting). I was happy that Deo actually wanted to do it with me. I actually tried to sneak and decorate some of it a couple of days ago in which Deo caught me and asked me to wait for him (he just likes to amuse me)! After finishing the project, I thought of a cute tradition to start. I want to make a gingerbread house every year for Christmas. That way, we can display our entire collection each year and see in what ways we can make them different each year. Next year I want to make a two-story house with a picket fence!

So here is year numero uno:






P.S. Please don't mind the nasty dust on our shelf. We need to get around to do a good cleaning :)

O Tannenbaum

I still remember the day we went and picked our first Christmas tree as a couple. I was living in a tiny, cottage-like house with my brother, and Deo was in a studio by himself. It was the first Christmas I wasn't going back home to Ohio, so I wanted to make it special. We had no space, and even less money. So we went to Wal-mart and bought the best tree we could for 20 bucks. Then we bought boxes of 99 cent colored bulbs and ta-da....our first Christmas tree....

....Well, we've come a long way from our fake Walley-world tree. This year, I was determined to go all out. A 9 foot Noble Fur; the best one on the lot (at least we thought so). We loaded it up in our car and unloaded it in our garage. We sat back and looked at it, "I think we bit off more than we can chew." I wasn't even sure if it was going to fit in our house.



But sure enough, it fit perfectly in our pre-planned tannenbaum locale (even though we had to move our table against the wall). But it fit, and we were off decorating.



First, we put up an ornament to commemorate our first Christmas together as a married couple; which makes this Christmas season extra special for me!



My mom, brother, and niece even came over to share in the delight.







And the finished product:

Sick Day

So today my sore throat finally caught up with me. Since Thanksgiving, my throat and sinuses have been bothering me. Deo was really sick earlier this week, and mine finally got me! I woke up and throat hurt so bad I couldn't even swallow. And when I muster enough strenth to get actually swallow, the pain shoots to my ears. My sickness caused me stay in my sweats all day in front of the boob tube...which gave me the opportunity to catch up on my holiday movies! I've been waiting all year to bust out the dusty movies that sit on the bottom of the shelf. I love holiday movies because they make me feel like a little kid again. Because of this, I love watching cartooon and kid movies. No joke, that's all I've done all day. I only got up a couple times; to make soup and go to the bathroom. In order, here is what able to accomplish today:

1. How The Grinch Stole Christmas (with Jim Carrey)

2. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

3. Alvin and Chipmunks Christmas Special

4. The Santa Clause 2

5. The Santa Clause 3


I have to say, after 5 Christmas movies in a row, I'm a little Christmas movied out...but there is always this weekend!!!!

Lights, Camera, Action

Here is a picture of our Christmas Lights. I think they look better in person.

Most Wonderful Time of the Year

So my favorite time of year is here. Sometimes I hate it that my favorite time of year is Christmas, because it is so cliche, but I can't help it. This weekend was the official start of it for me. For the first year since I've been in Arizona, we were able to put lights up on our house, which we did yesterday. I have to say...they sure look pretty! This year was also the first year EVER I ventured outat 6:00am the day after Thanksgiving for some holiday shopping. I only went to Michael's and Target and mostly got Christmas decorations...and actually it was kind of fun. The lines weren't too bad where I was and everyone seemed to be in a very cherry and spirited mood.

This is also the time of the year when I get very nostalgic and start miss my hometown of Lima, Ohio the most. It is so hard for me to get into the spirit of the holidays without cold weather and snow. I miss driving around in my wool peacoat, gloves, scarf, and hat to look at Christmas lights though the falling snow. I miss the life-sized Santa Clause that my mom used to put in our front window; and to look out that window and see our neighbors artfully hanging strands of colored lights on their two huge pine trees in their front yard. And speaking of two huge pine trees, I miss driving through the Kewpee drive-through and seeing their two huge pine trees lit up with twinkling white lights. I miss going to YMCA and walking outside to the crisp coldness after being all sweaty from my workout. I miss making snow angels in the front yard, and watching our dogs chase snowflakes around as they fall. I miss going over to my Nana and Grandpa's and sledding down the resevoir in their back yard; and then going through the basement snow door to strip off our frozen clothes into the dryer; and then making our way upstairs for hot chocolate and cookies. I miss decorating the dozens of sugar cookies our nieghbor, Mrs. Bowsher, would give to us in exchange for some Buckeys.

It's hard being away from all of my memories during this time of year, but Deo and I are making new memories of our own and I appreciate all of the wonderful things Tucson brings to the Holiday season!

Happy Turkey Day!!!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. Thanksgiving has been a holiday that I never really thought too much about. It was the precursor to the Christmas season and after it is over, you can finally feel alright putting your holiday decorations up. The food is alright, even though I absolutely love to eat and it's one of my favorite things to do...the turkey dinner was always just alright. Not a big fan of pumpkin pie, pecan pie and any other pies (except for cherry which is my favorite)!

But this year, I started to tear up a little bit during that pre-dinner prayer portion. I am very thankful for so many things and it just seems like an appropriate time to say "Thank You" out loud.

Have you ever look from the outside in on your life and think, "wow, I really love my life." Sometimes I can't really believe that I am where I am at today. As a child, I always thought about being a grown-up, having a job, a house, a husband. Sometimes I still can't believe this is my life and so happy I am in it. I wouldn't have ever imagined I'd be living in Arizona (coming from Ohio) and having my family out here as well. I NEVER would have thought I'd have a niece at this time in my life, and my brother would be living in the same neighborhood as me. I can't believe I am married to someone that I KNOW I want to go through the thick and thin with. I look back and just wonder sometimes what led me to be here right now.

I am thankful that I am 24 and own a house. It is a very large accomplishment for me and I am very proud of it.

I am thankful I have my degree that I feel very confident I can always fall back on.

I am thankful for my two dogs who are so excited when I come home (even if I've just stepped outside for a minute) and who snuggle with me when I'm sick.

I am thankful for my parents, even though they drive me nuts most of the time, I wouldn't be who I am without them.

I am thankful that my mom is out here (and my dad will soon be out here)...even though (again) I complain, I really love having her out here.

I am thankful that my brother and his family live so close to us and we get to see them a lot more than we ever have before.

I am thankful for my in-laws as I couldn't ask for a better family to be a part of.

And last but not least, I am thankful for my husband. He tries his absolute hardest to make me the happiest I could ever be. He loves me unconditionally and always tries to resolve conflicts and understand my feelings. And I am thankful that ne never lets me go to bed angry, even with how stubborn I can be.

I hope everyone else can find just as many things to be thankful for and really appreciate all of the wonderful things life brings your table.

Those who can't do...teach

So I'm not sure what qualifies me to give anyone career advice. I feel like a fraud sometimes; talking to students about how to search for an internship, or get a job in LA. Heck, I've been to LA once for 12 hours and stayed in the hotel the whole time. I tell students to take chances, step out of their comfort zone, and network, network, network. But me? I hate networking, shmoozing, and any other form of it. I work in a job where I earned my degree, and worked during college. Talk about comfort zone. I'm thinking about transfering into another graduate degree program becuase the one I am in currently is WAY out of my comfort zone....no matter what excuse I give for wanting to transfer out of it. I'm only a few years older (sometimes younger) than the students that I advise and I really should be asking me the same questions I ask them. What do you like to do? What classes do you enjoy? What non-academic activities are you in? What research have you done? Maybe it's the fact that I can critique everyone else on how they have no direction, no ambition, and no self-awareness that makes me feel better. Like I'm not the only one. Or maybe it goes back to the old adage, "Those who can't do...teach." Maybe that's why on my Strong Interest Inventory over 50% of my top 10 occupations came back as some type of teacher.